Description
Dreaming in Antiquity
Book Summary
This essay explores the complex dream experience in Greco-Roman antiquity and early Christianity, analyzing how philosophers, ascetics, and historical figures interpreted their dreams. The author examines the fundamental questions these dreamers posed to themselves regarding the authorship of their visions and how these influenced their moral conduct. A profound study on subjectivity, identity, and the formation of the ethical subject through dreams in the ancient world.
What is it about?
The book delves into the dreaming experience of key figures of antiquity, both pagan and Christian. It analyzes how Stoics and Epicureans, as well as the orator Aelius Aristides, related to their dreams, questioning whether they were the ones dreaming or if an external force was communicating through them. In the Christian realm, it examines the cases of Perpetua, Saint Jerome, and the desert anchorites of Egypt, who used their dreams as a guide for moral correction and the justification of their spiritual path. The work focuses on the questions these individuals asked themselves: how to behave in the face of dreams, how to direct oneself, and how to become the kind of moral subject one ought to be.
Main Themes
- The dream experience as a construction of subjectivity in antiquity.
- The relationship between dreams, identity, and personal agency in the Greco-Roman world.
- The function of dreams in the formation of the moral subject in early Christianity.
- Comparative analysis of dream interpretations in Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Christian asceticism.
- The dream as a tool for self-knowledge, correction, and justification of conduct.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at readers interested in ancient philosophy, the history of ideas, historical psychology, and studies on subjectivity. It is especially relevant for students and researchers of philosophy, history, anthropology, and theology seeking to understand how the dream experience was conceived in the classical world and its role in shaping the individual.
What this book offers
- A detailed analysis of the conceptions of dreaming in key philosophical and religious currents of antiquity.
- A novel perspective on the formation of the moral subject through the interpretation of dreams.
- An exploration of the fundamental questions regarding identity and agency that the ancients posed to themselves while dreaming.
- A comparative study between pagan and Christian dream experiences, enriching the understanding of both traditions.
Technical Specifications
- Author: Pérez Cortés, Sergio
- Publisher: Anthropos Editorial
- Language: Spanish
- Topic: Literary essays, Humanities, Philosophy, Ancient Western Philosophy, Deconstructivism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism
- Collection: Filosof-a
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: November 2017
- Number of pages: 384
- Weight: 460 g
Editorial Assessment
This work offers a rigorous and original approach to a fascinating subject: the role of dreams in the construction of identity and morality in antiquity. Its focus on the questions the dreamers themselves asked provides an uncommon depth to the analysis. It is a recommended read for those seeking to understand how subjective experiences, such as dreams, were integrated into philosophical and religious systems, and how they contributed to the formation of the ethical subject. A solid academic work that connects ancient philosophy with contemporary questions about subjectivity.